William Joseph McCloskey

Early Life, Training and Family

William Joseph McCloskey was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 5, 1859. His formative years were shaped by the rigorous academic traditions of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he pursued his studies between 1877 and 1882. During this period, he trained under the guidance of Christian Schussele and Thomas Eakins, absorbing the technical precision required of a professional painter.

The trajectory of his life shifted toward the American West in the early 1880s. While teaching in Denver, Colorado, he met Alberta Binford, a fellow artist who would become his wife. Their meeting, occurring around 1882 or 1883, marked the beginning of a significant creative and personal partnership. The couple eventually settled in Los Angeles, where they established a portrait studio in 1884. Their family grew to include a daughter, Eleanor McCloskey Russell, who would later become a frequent subject for her parents' brushes.

Artistic Career and Travels

His professional life began to take shape in the American West, where he accepted a teaching position in Denver, Colorado, in 1882. This period of instruction preceded a significant move to New York in late 1885 or early 1886. During these formative years, his work and his life became closely intertwined with those of Alberta Binford, as the couple established a portrait studio in Los Angeles in 1884. Their professional lives were characterized by constant movement, as they traveled extensively to fulfill commissions and exhibit their work across the United States and Europe.

The 1890s saw him expanding his horizons through travels to England and Paris. His presence in the art world was marked by a nomadic existence, with extended periods spent in San Francisco, London, Paris, Salt Lake City, New York, and Los Angeles. This mobility allowed him to engage with diverse environments, though his focus remained steady on his chosen subjects. Following a separation from Alberta in 1898, he chose to remain in California, continuing his practice in the West.

In the later years of his life, his geography shifted once more. By the mid-1920s, he had moved to Oregon, settling there until his death in 1941. His career was defined by this steady movement between the urban centers of the East Coast and the developing landscapes of the West, always maintaining a presence in the various cities that hosted his exhibitions and portrait commissions.

Technique and Artistic Style

McCloskey’s hand was most certain when applied to the quietude of still-lifes, portraits, and genre scenes. He possessed a particular affinity for the textures of fruit and floral arrangements, treating each subject with a meticulous eye for detail. His approach often utilized the trompe l’oeil technique, a method designed to trick the eye into perceiving three-dimensional objects on a flat surface. This precision allowed him to render the specificities of individual species with a high degree of accuracy, capturing the exact likeness of the produce he depicted.

His compositions frequently relied on a deliberate sense of drama. He often arranged his subjects casually upon polished mahogany tabletops, setting them against the deep, heavy shadows of rich drapery backgrounds. This interplay of light and dark served to highlight the tactile qualities of his subjects, whether they were the smooth skin of an apple or the delicate folds of tissue paper. In his collaborative years with Alberta, the couple achieved a shared standard of specificity, ensuring that every botanical or edible element was rendered with exacting clarity.

Notable Works and Subjects

McCloskey found his most enduring expression in the quiet, tactile details of the kitchen and the pantry. He possessed a particular affinity for round fruit, frequently centering his compositions on the smooth curves of apples and oranges. These subjects were often depicted in a state of transition, appearing partly tucked within crisp paper wrapping, a detail that lent a sense of immediacy to his still lifes. His ability to render the specific textures of fruit and the delicate folds of paper allowed him to transform simple grocery items into objects of intense visual scrutiny.

His output included a variety of formats and media, ranging from oil on canvas to works on paper. In his 1896 oil on canvas, Apples on a tabletop, he demonstrated his command over the arrangement of simple produce. Other notable pieces include Oranges in Tissue Paper, painted about 1890, and Untitled (Still Life, Tangerines) from 1912. He also worked with different materials, as seen in the 1890 piece Song, which was executed in oil on paper over canvas.

• Oranges in Tissue Paper, ca. 1890
• Song, 1890
• Apples on a tabletop, 1896
• Untitled (Still Life, Tangerines), 1912

Where to See His Works Today

The physical remnants of McCloskey’s career are preserved in several significant collections across the United States. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco holds a selection of his paintings, including the work Oranges in Tissue Paper. These pieces offer a glimpse into the precision he applied to his still-life subjects during his time in California.

For those seeking the most extensive collection of his output, the Bowers Museum maintains the largest holding of McCloskey paintings in the world. This institution preserves a wide range of his studies and finished compositions, including the watercolor Untitled (Portrait of Eleanor with Wreath), dated about 1892. These works provide a substantial record of his technical development and his ability to capture both fruit and human subjects.